Education Studies

Education Studies

Final Year Projects: Procedures

This is the system for Level 2 students who are thinking of doing their Final Year Dissertation in Education Studies and Education Studies (Early Childhood). It is important that you read the following carefully. The following contains details about:

· preparing your proposal during Level 2

· working for your FYP during Level 3

· the format for presenting your dissertation at Level 3

The University Regulations define the Final Year Project as:

‘…an exercise enabling students to apply summatively their knowledge and understanding of theory and practice, in relation to their programme of study, by producing an independent piece of research which exhibits clarity of expression, creative and logical thought’

Importantly, the Final Year Project is expected to be

‘primarily student-directed with supervision supplied by programme of study staff’

The Final Year Project may take different forms across the University, but in Education Studies the FYP is normally a dissertation. The University Regulations for FYPs are:

1	You can do a dissertation wholly in Education Studies or Ed. Studies (Early Childhood). The code for this is ES3002 and it counts as a double module. In your module choices for Level 3 you include ES 3002 once in semester 1, and once in semester 2.
2	Alternatively, you can do a joint dissertation in either Education Studies or Ed. Studies (Early Childhood) and your other field (if they allow this). The code for this is ES3001 and it counts as a single module (the other credit will come from the 3001 module in your other field). In your module choices for Level 3 you include ES 3001 once and the code from your other field once.
3	The deadline for dissertations is normally the first working day of Week 9, Semester 2.
4	The dissertation is worth two module credits (30 CATs Points). The dissertation must be one single piece of work, and must be between 8,000 and 10,000 words in length or their equivalent.
5	You must gain a pass mark for your dissertation in order to be awarded an Honours degree. The mark for your dissertation will always be included in your Honours classification. The pass mark for the dissertation is 40%. If your dissertation receives a fail mark you will normally only be eligible for the award of a non-Honours degree. It is sometimes possible for a failed dissertation to be redeemed over the summer vacation. Sometimes it is necessary to do a completely new project part-time during the following year.
6	The dissertation must comply with all the academic conventions required of Education Studies work. It must have an approved focus that meets the Level 3 Learning Outcomes in Education Studies. It must have a coherent and logical structure, which uses primary and secondary sources effectively as critical tools. It must be referenced accurately and consistently using the Harvard System. The particular organisation of the dissertation (chapters, sections, sub-headings, diagrams etc.) will be determined by the nature of your project, and should be negotiated with your supervisor.
7	The Learning Outcomes for Education Studies dissertations are the same as all Level 3 Learning Outcomes: 1. Show an ability to employ theorists critically in relation to issues 2. Show an ability to use concepts as critical tools in discussing issues and questions as appropriate 3. Show an ability to employ theoretical perspectives as critical tools 4. Therein, to develop in your work a critical synthesis informed and deepened by appropriate use of theory as critique
8	Your dissertation must be word processed in 12 point Times New Roman, with double spacing and adequate margins on left and right sides. The pages must be suitably bound together (e.g. ring binder or folder). It does not have to be professionally bound in hard covers. It must include a front cover sheet which contains your name and the Field of Study in which the dissertation was written, the name of your supervisor and the title of the project as approved by the Programme. A completed coversheet should also accompany your dissertation.
9	Two copies of the dissertation must be handed in to the Education Studies office by 2.30 p.m. on the due date. If you fail to hand your dissertation in on time and have not been given an extension by the Dean of Faculty the normal scale of penalties for coursework will apply.
10	Extensions will only be given where it is clear that you have suffered an illness (supported by a Doctor’s certificate) which has significantly affected your progress, or in the case of serious personal problems (such as the death or severe illness of a close relative). Where such circumstances apply, the Programme Director must be notified at the time of your illness or personal problem. A failure to notify the Programme Director at that time will normally result in an extension being denied regardless of the veracity of the illness or problem

Preparing a Proposal:

This is a process rather than a specific act, and if you are thinking of doing either ES3002 or ES3001 then you will need to do the following things:

Between week 1 and week 7 of Semester 2, Level 2, you will need to contact a tutor or tutors in Education Studies by email and engage in a dialogue with them both the content and issues you are interested in.
Education Studies dissertations are not normally empirical because such work does not easily enable students to achieve the Level 3 Learning Outcomes for Education Studies. If you are considering empirical research it is essential that you inform a tutor at the very beginning of the proposal process. If, after critical discussion you are allowed to design some small-scale empirical research, then you must also undertake additional research training and ethical scrutiny before embarking on any data collection. Failure to do this will result in a failed dissertation.
Please note it may be the case that you are desperate to do a dissertation on something which falls outside of the expertise offered by tutors. Our first response to this is to encourage you to re-think. We believe you will do better working in areas that your tutors know and understand well.
No-one gets a research focus/question right first time so don’t get disheartened if you are asked several times to rethink or refine your ideas. It is also possible that you contact one tutor and they pass you on to another who they consider to be of more help to you. This is fine as final decisions about supervisors do not have to be made until the Easter break.
It is vital that this dialogue be retained on one continuous email for record purposes. To ensure this, always press ‘REPLY’ and do not delete any of the previous messages that will automatically be displayed – simply clear a space next to the last comments and start writing. This will become a record of your work with tutors and will be submitted (by Jenny on your behalf) with your proposal to the Dissertation Panel.
The Dissertation Panel will convene at Easter to assess the email records of your dialogues and to clarify research topics and to assign supervisors. Where necessary proposals will be forwarded to an Ethics Committee but it is anticipated that the Panel will approve most of the proposals worked out between students and tutors.
You will then be notified of your supervisor in the second half of the semester. You must then contact your supervisor to arrange your first supervision prior to the end of Level 2.

Dissertation Supervision

The work for your dissertation must be ‘primarily student-driven’: It is your responsibility to maintain contact and dialogue with your supervisor over the summer and during Level 3. You must take the initiative in making and keeping appointments with your supervisor, and preparing fully for supervisions.

The specific conduct of supervisions will be negotiated between yourself and your supervisor: this should be established at the beginning of semester 1, Level 3.

The key to success in a dissertation is to work steadily across the year to achieve the range and depth of understanding necessary to produce a sound piece of work. For a large proportion of this time, your work will be mainly reading, and in order to maintain focus it is essential that you produce detailed, coherent notes and regularly discuss your research/thinking with your supervisor.

The Easter vacation occurs near the end of the dissertation period, and this is a good time for focussed writing. However, this intensive writing will only be successful if it is the culmination of several months’ research: trying to fit all your work into this short time period will inevitably lead to a superficial and muddled dissertation, which will be a poor reflection of your abilities. If you know you are a slow writer, or that you get overwhelmed by large tasks, make writing the dissertation manageable by starting writing early, and redrafting as your research develops.

Tutor availability will be very limited over the Easter vacation. You must check your supervisor’s availability over this period well in advance.

Your responsibilities and your supervisor’s responsibilities are as follows:

A tutor

· will expect to see this commitment recognised on their workload

· will expect students to undertake the responsibility to maintain regular contact over the year

· will expect students to agree a provisional title and a structure by week 2, semester 1, Level 3

· will expect to mark the dissertation and if the dissertation is a double Education Studies module, to arrange for it to be second marked

· will expect to keep a record of supervisions

A student

· will be allocated a supervisor before vacation at the end of Level 2

· should begin their research in the vacation before Level 3

· should meet their supervisor before the end of week 2, semester 1 of Level 3

· will understand that it is their responsibility to maintain contact with their supervisor

· may expect at least two supervisions per semester but more if agreed with the supervisor

· will understand that the research is their own and that supervisors can only advise on possible sources, directions and content, but not on analysis, argument or evaluation

· will understand that the content of the dissertation should be discussed in detail with supervisors, and prepare for supervisions appropriately. How this discussion will be conducted is a matter for negotiation between individual students and tutors, but no supervisor will read a full draft of a student’s work.

· will understand that it is their responsibility to submit the dissertation in accordance with the University regulations

Education Studies tutors’ research/supervision interests are as follows:

Emile Bojeson

I am particularly interested in supervising dissertations which focus on the areas of literature, postmodern and post-structuralist thought, early childhood, progressive education, intimate relations, love and sexuality.

Simon Boxley

If you want to look at contemporary policy and practice in English primary and early years settings, I would be happy to work with you in thinking through some critical approaches. I would also enjoy working with anyone who wishes to apply Marxist critique or develop Marxist theory in relation to education in general. Should you wish to explore issues around education and ecology/environment, I'd also be delighted to supervise.

Derek Bunyard

My research interests are focused on all aspects of representation regardless of media type. I am also interested in theoretical combinations of culture, education, and early childhood. Studies involving aspects of science culture, psychoanalysis, or narrative form are also welcomed.

Rebekah Howes

My primary research interests are in the areas of religion/s and politics. This will include the philosophical and political in the following areas:

·        Religion and the tradition- ancient, medieval and modern texts that look at the historical relation between religion and the state, God and man, the idea of the soul and education;

·        Religion and conflict – fundamentalism, the Middle East, terrorism;

·        Politics – anything to do with the nature of the political – ideas of freedom, alienation, capitalism, theory and practice.

Marie Morgan

My three main areas of interest focus around higher education, the Holocaust and discipline. I’m happy to supervise dissertations which explore higher education philosophically through a variety of political and sociological questions. These dissertations are likely to, in some way, explore the purpose and nature of higher education. I’m particularly interested in supervising dissertations on the Holocaust and/or associated philosophical or political issues. Dissertations on discipline will be philosophical in nature and can focus on any of a wide variety of political, moral, ethical or social aspects of discipline.

Stephanie Spencer

I am interested in supervising dissertations with an historical and / or gendered framework. This could include issues of auto/biography and memory. Oral history could also be considered. My own research has focused on women and education from the late nineteenth to the mid twentieth centuries. Dissertation subjects might consider the work and writing of one female educationist or issues of gender and policy making. Most recently I have been involved in research into widening participation and higher education and would be happy to supervise work around this topic. Research might also use material located in the Hampshire Record Office including the archive of this university.

Nigel Tubbs

I am happy to supervise dissertations which are theoretical in nature. I will be pleased to hear from you if you are interested in pursuing philosophical, sociological, political or educational issues by working on particular theoretical perspectives or thinkers. Obviously any dissertations which follow up concerns raised in ES2201 and 2206 would be relevant but if you have other questions please get in touch so that we can talk about them.